Download American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War AudioBook Free

When America announced war on Germany in 1917, america acquired only 200,000 men under biceps and triceps, a 20th of the German army's strength, and its own planes were no match for the German air push. Less than a century later, america today has definitely the world's major military budget and provides over 40% of the world's armaments.In American Arsenal Patrick Coffey examines America's military services change from an isolationist express to a global superpower. Concentrating on 15 specific advancements, Coffey illustrates the unplanned, often haphazard nature of this change, which includes been motivated by political, military services, scientific, and commercial passions. Beginning with Thomas Edison's focus on submarine technology, American Arsenal goes from World Warfare I to the present conflicts in the centre East, covering issues from chemical weapons, tactical bombing, and the nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union, to "smart" bombs, hand-held anti-aircraft missiles, and the Predator and other drone aircrafts. Coffey traces the storyplot of each advance in weaponry from attracting plank to battlefield, and includes exciting portraits of the men who created and deployed them:

• Edward Teller, "the father of the hydrogen bomb"
• Robert Oppenheimer, mind of atomic bomb design at Los Alamos
• Curtis LeMay, who led the fire-bombing of Japan
• Herman Kahn, nuclear strategist and a model for Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove
• Abraham Karem, inventor of the Predator
• And many others

Coffey also examines the increasingly detached nature of modern American warfare - the ultimate goal is to remove soldiers from the battlefield entirely - which restricts casualties (211,454 in Vietnam and only one 1,231 in the Gulf Warfare) but also lessens the politics and internal costs of going to war. Examining the backstories of every major American weapons development, American Arsenal is vital listening for anybody enthusiastic about the continuing progression of the U.S. protection program.